Metroid: The Adventure Begins
by Sharonlover
Summary: COMPLETED Based on Metroid NES, Samus now able to use the Power Suit, seeks revenge on Ridley and takes a job to destroy the General and his leader Mother Brain. A retelling of the original Metroid with two original chapters at the end. Please R&R.
1. Default Chapter

Metroid: The Adventure Begins Adapted By: Matthew Sharonlover Sharpe  
  
First and foremost, I would like to say that I do not own any characters or ideas within this story related to Nintendo's NES game titled "Metroid" or any concepts from "Metroid Prime". With that out of the way I say in my best Michael Buffer voice (Whom I don't own either :P), "Welcome avid Metroid fans of all ages to another installment of my Metroid saga. You must be forewarned that unless you have read "In One We Will Find A Warrior", also located in the Metroid section at Fanfiction.net, you might find yourself at a misunderstanding of Samus' past. "In One We Will Find A Warrior" is a prequel to this story underlining Samus Aran's childhood and beginning through my own interpretation of the Nintendo Power special comics in Volumes 59 through 62. "Metroid: The Adventure Begins" is a direct sequel as well as a retelling of NES' "Metroid". So sit back and be ready for a whirlwind of action and adventure as Samus Aran begins her journey into the life of a bounty hunter.  
  
Sharonlover  
  
Chapter 1 Introduction  
  
Samus brought her ship into the planet Zebes orbit. The view port showed the orange planet and its nearby moons lazily floating through its set course in space. The space pirates, led by a red dragon that called himself Ridley, had taken control of Zebes six months earlier destroying the race of Chozo that once occupied the planet. Those Chozo who were able to escape the pirates raid found shelter on the nearby planet of Amidos, while a few others had found there way to another nearby planet, Tallon IV, where the Chozo had settled long ago to become more in touch with the spirit of nature. The pirates found that Zebes was a natural fortress with its labyrinth of tunnels and high mountain ranges.  
  
"Start log", Samus said activating the electronic logbook she had integrated into her power suit. "Earth date January 5, 2041. I have reached the outer orbit of Zebes, a world that I once called home. My plan is to infiltrate Zebes and make my way to Ridley. End Log." Samus closed her logbook screen and was about to descend toward Zebes when an incoming message came over the COM link.  
  
"Samus, this is Old Bird. I've heard that you are going after Ridley. The Federation believes that you are some sort of legendary bounty hunter. A while back a bounty hunter with a suit of armor similar to yours took jobs but he would never give out his or any other personal information. I'm assuming you were being hotheaded when you took this assignment. Please don't forget that your power suit has the ability to go beyond its current capabilities by adding enhancements. These enrichments can be found in the palms of Chozo statues located throughout Zebes. I know that anything I say cannot change your mind and so I beg you to be careful my dear child. Your destiny awaits you, protector of the Chozo." Old Bird's transmission ended leaving the cockpit silent with the exception of the hum from the engines.  
  
Samus broke the silence, "Legendary bounty hunter? I better not disappoint them then." Another message appeared on the view port, this one from the Galactic Federation Headquarters.  
  
"Samus Aran, your mission has become more important then the capture or death of the space pirate Ridley. The Federation is asking you to first and foremost destroy the Metroid threat before it can be multiplied. The space pirates plan on using the life force sucking creatures as a weapon. The Metroid are dangerous and deadly creatures that will latch onto its prey and with razor sharp fangs will drain the victim of there life force. A Metroid, according to our sources, is only weak to icy elements. That means that these creatures need to be frozen before they can be destroyed. Please keep this in mind when you encounter this creature. Your secondary objective is the eradication of the Space Pirate Ridley. If you encounter other pirates, they too need to be destroyed. Keep a record of how many are destroyed so that we may compensate you for your work. The best of luck to you Samus Aran. End of transmission M150."  
  
Samus found herself irritated at the Federation for changing her objectives but after little thought Samus thought nothing of it since she would get around to Ridley sooner or later. Samus put the engines into action setting her landing site in the rocky area of Crateria. Samus lowered the power going to her engines as she came closer to the surface, trying to keep her arrival as stealth as possible. With the ship set down just a few feet from the ground, Samus cut the engines and the anti-gravity thrusters kicked in keeping the ship afloat hovering at its current height. A screen came up asking Samus if she would like to test the atmospheric conditions outside and Samus consented. A report came on screen a second later describing the atmosphere as intolerable. The report showed that the air was filled with a gaseous form of a mysterious chemical called Phazon. According to the computer, Phazon is a poisonous chemical that when breathed in causes the host to act out in anger, often attacking others for no reason. Prolonged exposure to the gas with radiation properties could also make the victim vulnerable to cancer and other bodily diseases. Samus locked her helmet on, insuring her helmet was sealed and exited the ship making her way to the nearest cave entrance. Entered and began making her way through the tunnels of Zebes. The last time Samus had been on Zebes there was a friendly and homely buzz of life running through the ancient passageways, but now an eerie silence encompassed the passageway that if broken Samus felt would unleash hordes of Zebesian creatures on her. The pirates had managed to keep the power running as she noticed a disk of energy indicating an elevator. She climbed on and the elevator started with a low drone as it descended into the depths of Brinstar.  
  
Samus' memory had slowly started to return during her residency at the Galactic Federation Hospital. The use of her power suit and her combat training was one of the first things that had come back to Samus. Her life on Zebes was still shaky but she did remember a few of the Chozo such as Old Bird and Skint. Her biggest problem was with the bounty hunter named Houston Armstrong who claimed that the two of them were a hot item but she did not remember the bounty hunter and only saw him as someone to get in her way. Samus remembered Zebes but the layout of the tunnels still seemed foreign to her as she stepped off of the elevator. Radiance to her right caught her attention and she gated over to the rock face from which the light emitted. She tried peeking through various stress fractures in the wall but could only see the wall within the little room. Noticing a hole near the top of the wall, Samus began scaling the rock face and crawled into the tiny space. Samus stared into the room catching a glimpse of a spherical object sitting on a pedestal before the light it emitted forced her to shield her eyes. Samus dropped into the room and walked toward the light. The ball of light gave off heat, not a hot heat but a sort of warmth that felt welcoming. Samus reached her hand out towards the ball and touched what was a warm metallic object. With her touch, Samus' suit seemed to come to life, forcing her body into a fetal position. Samus gasped out of surprise as the suit morphed into a small ball about three- fourths her size. The ball then de-morphed and Samus returned to her normal state of being. A message appeared on her visor, "The Maru-Mari ball has been acquired." A small description of the uses for the ball came up on the screen as an introduction to the ball. Samus tried her newest ability out, morphing in and then back out of the ball.  
  
"Start log. I have made my way to the interior tunnels of Zebes. Upon my entry I have come across a new enhancement for my power suit called a Maru-Mari ball. I think for ease of mind I will call it the morph ball for short. I've yet to encounter any threats but the atmosphere is filled with a gaseous chemical called Phazon. End log." Samus looked up at the crawl space from which she had dropped into the room and tried to jump for it but was not able to reach the edge. The rock face was too slick to climb as Samus noticed while feeling for a place for her hands to grasp.  
  
"Damn it! How am I supposed to get out of here?" Samus asked herself kicking at the wall. A small portion of the wall gave way where she kicked it as if to say, "Right here." Samus bent over and looked through the hole and was able to see the other side of the wall and the disk of energy. She activated her morph ball and found herself thrown into the spherical shape. The morph ball option switched Samus' visor view into a radar. The radar bounced back the geographic topology that surrounded her and she was easily able to maneuver the small tunnel. Samus rolled out of the ball and was thrown face first into the floor, "Damn, that's going to take some getting use to." Samus continued down the passageway passing the elevator and heading toward a blue door at the opposite side of the room. Samus pressed her hand on the door expecting it to recognize her and open up. It wasn't until the door stayed lit that she realized that she had her suit on and therefore would need a shot from the power beam to deactivate and open the door. She backed up a few steps and armed her cannon. With a quick blast from the arm cannon the beam of energy swiftly dissipated throughout the door and the blue light around the door diffused and opened allowing the bounty hunter admittance. A Zoomer caught Samus off guard as it hurtled its way toward the unsuspecting bounty hunter who found herself on the floor once again as it tripped her up. She noticed that her energy level had dropped with the damage taken by the creature. At the bottom of the wall on the far side of the room there was another tunnel requiring the morph ball. Samus changed form and rolled through the tunnel and out to the other side where she was immediately attacked by a pirate. This was her first encounter with a space pirate since her battle with Ridley months earlier. The pirate began conversing in some un- decipherable language she assumed was its native tongue. The pirate walked toward Samus raising its knife like appendages in an effort to lash out at the bounty hunter. Samus strafed to the side firing her power beam at the creature that was hit in the abdomen.  
  
"Where is Ridley hiding?" Samus asked the bewildered and wounded pirate. The pirate cocked his head to the side and then spit a sticky acid toward Samus. Samus jumped out of the way as the acid hit the ground, eating away at the rocky surface. "I guess that means your resisting?" Samus took a good look at the disfigured pirate. The pirate stood about five feet tall and had a gray complexion. Its appendages hung down on its side and each one had a claw like hand folded toward its body. Its yellow eyes narrowed at Samus and it produced two sets of wings and took flight to the ceiling where it hung and watched Samus. Samus aimed at the being and shot at it, its body disintegrated into ash before becoming part of Zebes. Where the pirate had been there was now a small ball of light floating just out of Samus' reach. Samus switched her visor to her scanning mode. This mode allowed her to scan certain objects or creatures and then the suit would contact the ship and try to find information about the scanned object. Samus scanned the small ball of light and a second later a message appeared on her visor saying that the ball of light was energy and that the energy was compatible with her suit. It went on to say that when acquired the suits energy level would increase. Samus continued through the next door and found herself in a long vertical shaft made out of the blue tinted rock. The shaft was littered with ledges and outcropping rocks. A Zoomer lazily making its path around it or a Ripper flying between the walls inhabited almost every ledge. Each one seemed to be protecting its shelf, keeping other creatures from coming near them. Samus' only option now was to head up the shaft. She jumped from ledge to ledge trying to avoid the Zoomers and Rippers who seemed to be out to destroy her. She really didn't want to kill any native creatures of the planet unless she was forced to. She came to one door but seeing the top of the shaft and a door she decided to continue up. Once through the blue door Samus encountered a few pipes in which dwelled Zebs. Samus scanned one and the creature came up on her visor, "A Zeb is a Zebesian pipe dwelling creature that is able to fly. These creatures are usually peaceful unless disturbed by an intruder. When these creatures attack it is usually one after another."  
  
"I guess that intruder would be me", Samus said to the suit as if expecting it to respond to her sarcastic comment. Samus had to eradicate a few of the parasites in order to safely pass through the room where she came to a red door. She scanned this door as well after she found her power beam would not open it up. "This door is coated with a layer of cooled lava. An explosive device, such as five missiles is needed to clear it."  
  
Samus cursed herself for not keeping the missile launcher, which she had left at the Galactic Federation Hospital during her "escape". She promptly turned around and headed back out to the shaft and then passing through the tunnel through the door she had passed up earlier she found herself in another shaft with the exception that this one was gold tinted. "This is going to be a long day", Samus said to herself as she looked up and down the huge vertical shaft with it's many creatures on the ledges. 


	2. Brinstar: Zone 1

Just a couple of quick notes for those of you who do not follow Metroid like some of us die-hard I'd kill to be a cameo in the movie fans. If you are current visitors to the Metroid Database then you have heard about the movie rights acquired and the possibility of a sequel to Metroid Prime. Thoughts about this are welcome and I'd like to hear what you think? You can email me at Sharonlover_1@yahoo.com Oh don't forget to read and review! Thanks  
  
Chapter 2 Brinstar  
  
Samus began her trek down the gold tinted shaft descending to the lowest part of the room where she found a door. Samus went through the door and found herself in another gold tinted room. She dodged a few blue Wavers floating about the area and sustained some damage from a Skree falling from the cave ceiling. Samus came across a small protrusion over a pool of acidic sand. In between two vertical ledges over the pit sat a glass container holding a missile launcher and missiles. Samus cautiously jumped for the ledge and was knocked back into the sand by a flying space pirate. The acid in the sand began draining the energy from her suit. The sand seemed to give away under Samus' feet as she struggled to climb out of the solution. After finally grabbing hold of the nearby ledge she turned to face the pirate who had attacked her. She spotted the pirate hanging from the top of the ceiling just above the missile accessory. Samus took aim and began firing at the being as it flew farther down the room trying to evade the blasts. Samus finally defeated the creature and a large energy ball replaced the now deceased creature. Samus collected the energy ball by jumping into it whereupon the energy seemed to dissipate into her suit. The energy count on her visor rose by ten and she grabbed the missile attachment and leapt to the ledge where she could properly install the device. The missile launcher snapped onto the arm canon and Samus placed the five micro sized missiles into an opening on the side of her suit. An icon appeared on the upper left of her visor indicating an inventory of five missiles.  
  
Looking about the rest of the tunnel Samus found the next room to be an elevator room but not wanting to venture deeper within the planet just yet turned to explore rooms she hadn't been to yet. Samus headed to the gold tinted duct and up into the next set of rooms higher on the right. Samus dodged Wavers and Zoomers while jumping from ledge to ledge avoiding the acidic sand that covered some portions of the floor. The inevitable space pirate here or there kept Samus from making the time she wanted, as she had to wait and demolish the aggravating pests. Samus came across another container, which held an energy tank. The energy tank allowed Samus' suit to hold another extra 99 units of energy. This meant she could sustain more damage from the planets populace without worrying about her suit collapsing into pieces on her. She retained the energy tank after a brief battle with another space pirate. After more exploration Samus came across yet another blue vertical shaft leading up into the planet. At the top of the shaft Samus spotted another blue door higher up then the one she had ventured up to. She tried jumping up to the door, which happened to be just beyond her reach. She finally settled for the door before her and entered. She ran through the room destroying a few space pirates conversing on the ceiling and evaded some Zoomers. At the opposite end of the span Samus came across a red sealed door. Samus activated the missile launcher on her arm cannon. The missile icon in her visor highlighted and Samus fired the launcher. A slight heat built up within the cannon and Samus' arm was jerked back as the missile flew from the barrel of the cannon. It smashed into the firm molten rock causing minute pieces of the lava to fly ubiquitously. The highlighted missile icon decreased by one informing Samus that she only had four remaining missiles left. Four more shots cleared the remains and the door shattered to pieces as a humid draft exited the room welcoming the bounty hunter in.  
  
Samus entered the room and the first thing she noticed was a statue sitting atop a ledge only about three feet higher then the room's floor. Samus scanned the statue and a description came up.  
  
"The Chozo Statue: A statue created by a Chozo artist to commemorate accomplishments by a Chozo or used as a memorial for the deceased. Most of these statues are made out of a Cordite rock though some can be found made out of Bendizium rock. During the advances in Chozo technology, many inventions related to the Chozo power suit have been encompassed within the membrane-coated ball in the case of an emergency. Such devices were hidden from the Chozo attributable to the vow of pacifism that the Chozo took centuries ago."  
  
The Chozo statue sat on the ledge in silence it's hand outstretched toward Samus with the small ball clutched in its hand. The ancient Chozo statue was gray, its legs pulled toward its body rising up to the bend in its knee. Though the stone was old and weathered it held its head up looking straightforward, its eyes proud, strong, and welcoming to Samus. Samus shot at the coated ball in the statues hand disintegrating the membrane and revealing the concealed prize within. The hand now held a small round ball in its palm and Samus scanned it to find information about it.  
  
"The Bomb: The bomb can only be used when the Maru-Mari ball is activated. The bomb uses the same energy that the power beam uses. Uses for the bomb include blowing up diminutive walls and objects as well as injuring beings. Usually the power beam energy cannot harm physical objects; however, the bomb becomes magnetized, attracting elements to it and upon exploding causes the magnetized elements to be used as shrapnel."  
  
"Well maybe I can put this to some good use", Samus said reading the information the display produced. The information faded away leaving Samus gazing about the room taking in the awesome sight that the Chozo artist had left long ago. Samus remembered the monument on K2-L, her home planet, and the reason for the erection of such a magnificent spectacle. Though it had been some time Samus shed a tear for her lost parents who had been killed by a space pirate invasion. The Chozo statue brought remnants of memories from her past. Samus exited the room and began to backtrack to the gold tinted shaft she tried to use as a landmark. She had yet to find another room like it with the exception of the tunnel just to the bottom right of the shaft. During her journey back to the shaft, in one of the corridors Samus found herself enclosed in tight quarters with a Waver. The erratic creature fluttered angrily around the room attacking the bounty hunter. Samus rolled into her morph ball and set a few bombs on the floor in order to try and eliminate the creature before the suit took any more damage. A portion of the floor gave away and Samus found herself falling through the floor into a pit of the energy draining acidic sand. She landed with a thump in the sand but to her surprise the substance was not acidic. She began walking around the pit and fell through the floor again, this time falling a good distance down and striking the rock floor relatively hard. Samus precariously stood up regaining her composure from the plummet and with knocking knees walked to a door in the wall.  
  
"I have got to be more careful around this place." Samus shot at the door and it opened obediently. Samus strutted in and quickly took out a few space pirates within the room and collected the energy and missiles the demolished creatures left behind. Dispensing all five of her missiles, which exploded and sent the door flying in pieces, Samus quickly cleared the red door in front of her. Samus found herself in another chamber with a Chozo statue sitting on a ledge. The room was an exact replica of the one she had been in before and she wondered whether or not she had somehow traveled in a loop bringing her right back to the same room. Samus shot at the ball in the palm of the Chozo's outstretched hand and an attachment appeared in the ball's place. This was not the same room Samus soon found out as she grabbed an ice beam attachment for her arm cannon. A display appeared on Samus visor explaining the ice beam.  
  
"Ice Beam: The ice beam combines the power beam with liquid nitrogen to create a blast of freezing energy. When a living being is hit with this ice beam the creature is immediately frozen along with the air around it leaving it in a form of suspended animation for a short duration."  
  
"This should come in handy when I run into that Metroid", Samus said to herself equipping the ice beam. She left back out of the room and entered the chasm where she had fallen through the sandpit. Samus climbed up over a few ledges and was able to make her way high enough up to see the hole from which she had fallen. She climbed up in the hole and was able to pull herself up while grasping the crumbling floor. Once back on track Samus continued back into the gold tinted shaft and began making her way up. An encounter with a Zoomer allowed Samus to test the ice beam. Samus shot the Zoomer from across the room and as the beam left the cannon she felt a slight chill as the end of the barrel collected ice. When the beam flew across the room tiny air particles became visible as they were frozen and dropped to the ground with new weight. With the creature frozen Samus could continue firing at it with the beam and soon the creatures makeup would disintegrate into nothingness or she could demolish it with a missile. Samus chose her first option and continued to fire at the creature until its body disappeared. Samus continued to the top until she could go no further and entered the door just at the top. She came into a cavern full of green rock and scattered about the place was dried out vegetation of all types from bushes to grass. A few pipes in the cavern floor told Samus that Zebs more then likely occupied them. She tried to quietly and quickly to make her way by but ended up being in the midst of a swarm. She quickly dispatched the creatures and continued through the room. A group of smaller pipes were embedded into the green rock on the far side of the room. They were just big enough for Samus' morph ball to fit in. With no other direction to go she activated the ball and tried the bottom most pipe. Rolling through the pipe she encountered a Zoomer. She laid a bomb and before she could move far enough from the blast zone, she was flown out of the pipe as the explosion shook the walls of the pipe. The vibration of the pipe caused the overhead rock to collapse in on the pipe. Samus would have to use a pipe higher up and deactivating the morph ball Samus looked through each pipe. The group of pipes at the bottom all seemed to be blocked and only the top most one showed light at the other end.  
  
"Well how am I suppose to get up there?" Samus asked herself before a smile crossed her face as an idea came to her. She theorized that if the explosion from a bomb could force her out of a pipe, what was stopping the explosion from propelling the morph ball into the air. With a fresh idea Samus rolled back into the ball and laid a bomb against the wall. With the explosion Samus was indeed propelled into the air but not high enough to reach the top. She tried again but the attempt failed. Her mind began turning again and she decided she would try and lay multiple bombs in a vertical column as she propelled herself up. It took Samus awhile but soon she was propelling herself to the top most pipe with ease.  
  
"I think I'll call that little trick there the wall jump", Samus said out loud to herself pleased with the results. Samus rolled through the pipe and popped out the other side falling onto the ground. She then jumped a small crevice in the floor and continued through the door and found herself in another tunnel like room. A Zoomer raced across the ceiling and before Samus could destroy the creature it disappeared through the roof. Samus scanned the cracked surface of the ceiling to check it's stability and found that a passageway was likely just a level higher. Samus stood back and blasted a missile at the roof and sent rock flying everywhere. The hole in the ceiling became visible and a room above shed light down. Samus jumped through the hole into the room and entered the only door on her left. She found herself in a temple hallway and made her way to the door on the far end of the room. She assumed that another Chozo statue lay just beyond and she promptly destroyed the door and entered the room. Her assumption was verified and the Chozo statue welcomed her with an outstretched arm. The statue was in better shape then the others had been, the detail of the statues features crisp and clear. Samus immediately shot at the ball in the Chozo's hand and revealed suit attachments beneath.  
  
"Varia Suit: The Varia suit equips the current power suit with a special armor capable of withstanding extreme high temperatures much like those found in the core of planets. The armor will not allow the wearer to venture into magma or other substances of high temperature as the suit will begin to deteriorate. With a more durable metal, damage received will be reduced by a quarter percent."  
  
Once the scan was completed Samus suit came to life again. Samus was thrown into a crucified position. The attachment parts clamped together fusing with the current suit and integrated into the system. After the installation of the new hardware Samus found the suit to be a light tint of purple rather then the usual orange and red she was use to. Samus exited the room and left the abandoned temple room behind her. She ventured back through the tunnels to her right and picked up a missile expansion adding five more missiles to her armament. After four more hours of exploration Samus found herself traveling in circles. She had become lost within the vast blue maze like tunnels and now tired and exhausted she wanted to find a place to rest. Samus found herself venturing into one of the many blue vertical shafts she had explored earlier. She entered a door on her left and found herself in a room she had yet to explore. With surprise Samus continued through the room and an indicator light appeared on her visor. A report appeared on her screen showing that the Phazon toxic levels were extremely low. A red door at the end indicated that Samus would come into contact with yet another Chozo statue. The Phazon level within the statue room was almost non existent and safe for the bounty hunter to breath. Samus removed her helmet allowing her green hair to fall alongside the back of the suit. She shot at the Chozo's ball and revealed the long shot. Samus put the helmet back on to scan the object but didn't like the helmet on.  
  
"Long Shot: The Long shot allows the arm cannon to shoot further and more accurately. With this equipped the user can safely annihilate beings from a distance."  
  
Samus removed the helmet and set it at the foot of the Chozo statue. She put in the command to eject the suit, which caused the suit to bend forward and unseal. The backside of the suit split down the sides and the back slowly lifted away on hydraulic hinges. Samus lifted her body out of the suit feeling a refreshing breeze of cool air flow about her. She was sweaty, exhausted and tired and looking around the room spotted a small pool of water dripping from the wall. She tested the water which seemed to be clean and took in a long drink of the refreshing liquid. A Zoomer appeared from behind the statue charging toward the armor less bounty hunter. She quickly rolled to the side barely missing the spikes on the creatures back. She picked up her helmet and tossed it at the creature as it turned around to attack again. The creature stopped in it's tracks dead from the impact. Samus couldn't hold off sleep any longer. She climbed onto the ledge the Chozo statue sat upon and removed her leotard. She rung the wet sweaty clothes out and taking some water from the pool dumped it onto the leotard. After ringing it out for a second time she laid on the stone and placed the cloth beneath her head as she fell into sleep. 


	3. Brinstar: Kraid's Hideout

Chapter 3 Zone 2: Kraid's Hideout!  
  
Samus awoke from her sleep and the first thing that came to her mind was food. She regretted leaving her survival kit inside her ship but she did manage to grab a pack of matches, a couple of small rags and a first aid kit. Samus looked around for the Zoomer she had knocked out earlier and spotted it where she had laid it out. She opened the compartment on her suit that held her small supply and took out a rag and the matches. Grabbing some dried out bushes nearby and a couple of thick wood like branches she was able to start a small fire. She carefully removed the spikes from the Zoomer and set the meat on the rock beside the fire hoping to cook the meat. While it was roasting, Samus took her semi-wet leotard and set it on the opposite side of the fire hoping the heat would dry it out. She then walked over to the small pool of water and soaking the rag she began to clean herself up some. After taking care of her personal business she returned to the cooking Zoomer and after a few extra minutes took a bite out of hit. Though it was a bit rare still, the meat was tender and juicy. She took her time eating her meal, enjoying the free time she had. Once she was done she slipped back into the leotard and put her power suit on. The system came on line and Samus started her logbook.  
  
"Start Log: After an exhaustive venture into Zebes, I have found no sign of the Metroid life form; however, I have come across a population of Space Pirates and as asked have destroyed them. At the moment I seem to be lost and I plan on venturing a little deeper to try and find more evidence of pirate activity. End log."  
  
Samus closed the logbook and exited the room heading back for the shaft she had been in earlier. Now that she was refreshed she began her journey with renewed strength. She headed down the shaft and upon entering the next door on her right remembered exactly where she was. She crossed under a small ledge with her morph ball and planting a bomb, she destroyed the crumbled bricks beneath her. She fell down into the hole and found herself in another shaft she had yet to encounter. A few mellows made there nest in here and quickly swarmed the bounty hunter who desperately tried to fend them off taking minimal damage in the process. Within the next room Samus found a gruesome sight. A gigantic statue had been carved into the wall. The hideous creature was nowhere near the feature that the Chozo possessed. The head jutted out from the wall and with a gaping mouth an elevator appeared inside. The stone statue had huge stone teeth with horns sticking out from the sides of its head. Samus stepped inside the statues mouth and the hum of the elevator greeted her as the device began to descend down. As the elevator entered the next chamber Samus first noticed the change in scenery. Instead of the blue rock that dominated the northern portion of Brinstar, this area consisted of a gray sandstone type rock. This area of Brinstar contained a high concentration of cave dwelling vegetation. As Samus left the elevator shaft and headed down she entered the first door on her right. The room consisted of a purple variation of the blue rock she had seen earlier and except for the various ledges in the room; the floor was covered with acidic sand. At the top of a step like set of pedestals sat another missile expansion. Samus made her way to it destroying creatures and pirates on the way. Samus continued through to another vertical shaft, this one heading up. Samus complied with the direction of the chamber and began to head up. Venturing through the top door, Samus went through a set of rooms and before long she found herself looping back to the same shaft she had been in earlier. She backtracked to the elevator shaft and headed down one door, destroying the red door with her missiles. The small room herein contained another sand pit with some ledges. A Side hopper made is home in the room and quickly attacked the bounty hunter. It flew from its grasp on the ceiling and plunged toward Samus. She quickly dispatched the creature and quite by accident blew a hole in the wall. A small crack formed and Samus went to investigate. She bombed the crack and the block gave way revealing another passage. Passing through Samus found herself in another small room much like the other but with more pedestals. Atop the pedestal was an energy tank. Samus grabbed the tank and added it to her suit. A block appeared above her remaining energy showing she had three full blocks of energy. With nothing left to do in the room, Samus backtracked again to the elevator shaft and decided before heading down to investigate the doors on the opposite side of the shaft. After passing through enormous passages, destroying a clan of pirates and collecting another missile expansion, Samus re-emerged in the elevator shaft just below the door she had entered. Samus was becoming annoyed at the looping she had done but continued down. At the bottom of the shaft a small hole on her right caught her attention. She rolled into the morph ball and entered the hole to find she would need to bomb jump to get up and over the ledge. After a few attempts she made it over and entered the door on the other side.  
  
She went through another tunnel and emerged into another smaller shaft half the size of the elevator shaft. On the bottom of the shaft a space pirate sat against the wall daydreaming. Its wings were folded over his front hiding his claws. Samus crept up to the pirate and before she could stop her foot, she stepped on a dry branch. With the crack of the limb the space pirate woke up alerted to someone's presence. He was face to face with Samus Aran's arm cannon. A light glow emitted from the end of the cannon and the pirate began to tremble. It said something in its dialect then managed in broken English "please.no."  
  
"You speak my language?" Samus asked surprised motioning for the creature to back against the wall. It hobbled back on trembling legs and answered yes with a nod of its head. "Tell me then, who is your superior?"  
  
"I can't just tell you such information."  
  
"Tell me damn it or I'll blow you damn legs off!" She screamed at the creature grabbing it by the throat with her free hand and thrusting the arm cannon into the creature's thigh.  
  
"I told you I can't.they'll kill me if I do", the pirate rasped trying to suck in air. Samus hesitated a second before firing a missile into the creature's leg separating it from its body. The pirate screamed in pain as green liquid spilt from its severed appendage. "Kraid, Kraid is my captain."  
  
"And where can I find him?"  
  
"He's around here somewhere."  
  
"WHERE?" Samus yelled as she brought the arm cannon to the pirate's face.  
  
"I don't kn.", it began before its body was disintegrated leaving a missile for the bounty hunter to collect.  
  
"Wrong answer", Samus said aloud as she collected the ammunition and left through the door on her left. She went through another purple room swarming with side hoppers and after dispatching them she found herself in a tunnel. A side hopper attacked her but she couldn't get far enough back to blast it without hurting herself in the small confines of the tunnel. She morphed into her ball planning on exiting the other side of the room with a bomb. She laid the bomb and it exploded, creating a hole in the floor whereupon she fell through. She found herself in a small green room. The moss covered bricks hinted water was nearby. She left the room and found herself in another long green corridor. A figure was standing over an air pipe in the middle of the room. A hard shell covered with spikes protected the creature's back. Samus could see two horns growing from out from its head, it somewhat resembled the huge carving at the top of the elevator in Brinstar.  
  
"Kraid?!" Samus yelled leaping from the entry way and somersaulting over the creature. She landed on the other side of him and was shot to the ground by a spike.  
  
With a loud growl the creature lumbered toward the bounty hunter. Three small orifices appeared on the monsters belly and a barrage of spikes flew toward Samus while spikes were catapulted into the air toward her. She took damage from the attack and quickly rolled out of the way. Samus quickly jumped out of the way of more spikes and armed her missiles. She fired one at the creature and upon impact Kraid blew to pieces. Samus collected the energy and missiles lying about.  
  
"That was easy! I didn't even get a chance to ask him about Ridley. Damn!" She continued down the corridor destroying side hoppers and Zebs along the way. In the next corridor Samus noticed a crumbling piece of floor and after destroying the side hopper she bombed the spot and fell through into another room. This room was the same green as the others but the roof on this was covered with stalactites giving the impression of teeth. Samus entered the room to her left and found herself in a state of shock. In front of her was Kraid!  
  
"I thought I destroyed your sorry ass!" Samus yelled surprising Kraid upon her entry. Kraid instantly began attacking her in the same manner he had done so earlier. She was prepared this time and dodged the attacks firing her arm cannon at him. When she attacked him with the missiles little damage was done to the creature unlike the Kraid of before where it had taken only one missile to destroy him. She continued to the best of her ability to destroy the grotesque creature but made little leeway. She fired her ice beam at Kraid who just shook the ice off and continued attacking her. She was finally able to get the upper hand on the lizard like creature when she fired a missile at one of the openings on his belly. The missile exploded the firing spike in the monsters face throwing Kraid to the ground. Samus took the opportunity and fired at the back of Kraid's head blowing a hole just below his scalp. The creature laid writhing in pain trying to hold the back of his head as the blood pooled by his body. Its three eyes slowly rolled to the back of his head as it heaved one last breath.  
  
Samus fell to the floor in exhaustion taking a moment to catch her breath. She had almost completely depleted her missile armament and her arm cannon was covered in ice. Before exiting the room Samus noticed a few missile expansions and an energy tank in the room. With the suit back at full power and missiles ready, Samus left through the door she had entered. She made her way back up through Kraid's hideout continuing her onslaught of the pirates and other irate creatures. Samus made her way back to Brinstar and found herself back in the Chozo room where she had found her long shot.  
  
"I guess this makes a pretty good base for me. Clean air and water is the main reason and I can always grab a Zoomer to chow down on." Samus made herself comfortable trying to map out a strategy on where Ridley was hiding. She could feel his presence but knew nothing of the terrain she was traversing. 


	4. Zone 3: Norfair

Note From The Author:  
  
Hello everyone Sharonlover here, I know all us Metroid Fans know the events and levels of Metroid by heart right? Right! And I know you all know the story line and everything but I'm only doing this story as a set that way I feel a sense of completeness. Please bear with me within this story as most of it connects with the rest of my series. Well I hope you enjoy the rest of the story and please read and review. (  
  
Chapter 4 Zone 3: Norfair  
  
Samus ran down the hallway, steam from vents in the floor constantly fogged her visor. She entered the next room, which was about the size of a small two-bedroom house. A few fire fleas glowed in and out lighting up the room. Samus turned to exit the room finding nothing of importance and found herself looking at a locked door. She turned about and the fire fleas stopped emitting there light. A light breeze swept through the room and the room began to shake and then stopped as quickly as it had started. Samus could here someone or something breathing heavily and hollered, "Who's there?"  
  
The breathing continued with no answer and Samus flipped to her scan visor to see if she could pick up the creature but found nothing. A flame burst from one side of the room and Samus could dimly make out the shape of a dragon before a nearby bush caught fire and lit the room. The light from the fire reflected off the dragon's eyes and Samus knew she was in Ridley's presence. Samus stepped back and armed her cannon but before she could fire the dragon raised his arm and pointed to the wall behind Samus. She turned to look and found Old Bird and Houston Armstrong bound and gagged against the wall. Ridley flew over and brought his tail toward their vicinity in a threatening jester that meant if she fired he would kill. Samus lowered her arm cannon eyeing the creatures blank eyes for some sign of bluffing but found none. With a swift and almost stealth like swing, Ridley's tail tore through Old Bird and Houston's body. Samus screamed half in shock half in torment. The tears began streaming behind her visor as Ridley grasped the paralyzed bounty hunter by his tail.  
  
"You can't defeat me pawn. You can't defeat me", the dragon said pulling the bounty hunter to his face. He began to squeeze Samus who screamed in pain before Ridley dropped her to the ground. He brought his tail around and began to dart it about her before coming around for the kill.  
  
Samus woke up shivering with a cold sweat. The fire she had built had gone out long ago. She shook off the dream and cleaned herself up before putting her power suit on. She exited the room and began investigating dead ends and passages within Brinstar. After an hour Samus remembered she hadn't finished exploring the room from which she had received her missile launcher. She made her way back to that corridor and exited the blue door on the other side. Sure enough Samus found herself in an elevator room. She got on and the elevator began its descent.  
  
At the other end of the shaft the elevator came to rest between two miniature statues of Ridley. The walls were made of red stone and the temperature of the area seemed to rise drastically. Samus began her exploring of the area called Norfair. Through her exploring Samus encountered a few new creatures, the Multiviola, the Polyp, and an irritating creature the Nova. Samus found herself navigating through a long corridor, which in turn exited to a purple shaft. An evolution of the ripper glided across the room in various places along with other crawly creatures. After finding nothing but dead ends Samus discovered that like much of Zebes secret passageways lied beneath crumbled blocks. Samus soon discovered many of these and explored them to there extent. She collected missiles and found another ice beam.  
  
"Start Log. I've entered into Norfair and I am pretty sure that this would be the region Ridley is hiding out in. I've defeated Kraid who seemed to be a leader of some sort. I've obtained quite a few missiles and have destroyed many pirates. End Log." Samus closed the logbook and continued down the purple corridor and entered the next room. The room contained some floating platforms hovering slightly higher then the lava filled room. Small dragons made there home in the lava rising out to spit fireballs out at the bounty hunter. She quickly dodged the creatures and destroyed them before destroying the red door on the other side. She entered into yet another Chozo room. Samus opened the membrane-coated ball and scanned the object.  
  
"Screw Attack: The screw attack turns the Chozo power suit into a weapon. Using the power of the power beam, the suit becomes energized whereupon any creature that comes into contact with it is destroyed. This only works when the user somersaults and therefore cannot be used by walking, running or crouching." The description ended and Samus' visor returned to normal.  
  
Samus ran from the room leaping over the floating platforms and back down the hallway backtracking to explore other areas. She eventually came across another Chozo power up that allowed her to jump fifty percent higher then normal. These high jump boots allowed her easier access to higher ledges without having to freeze creatures for use of stepping-stones. After a few encounters with some polyps and the usual pesky pirates Samus was able to make her way to another elevator. This one was much like the one right outside of Kraid's hideout. The creature carved into the wall was very much the same as Kraid's except that this one contained two. The second one resembled the red dragon in a faint way a Samus' heart skipped a beat at the thought of facing the nemesis. She leapt onto the elevator and descended down. 


	5. The Confrontation with Ridley

Chapter 5 Ridley's Hideout  
  
*I forgot to add that Samus obtained the wave beam in the before chapter. Sorry just got so caught up.  
  
Samus jumped down from the elevator platform onto the ground five feet below her. Filled with a renewed energy in finding Ridley, Samus ran from room to room searching the fiend out. The temperature rose tremendously as she ventured further into the planet's core. Without her Varia Suit Samus would have surely been burned up by now. The stone in some areas had become so hot that the walls glowed bright orange nearly blinding the bounty hunter here and there. The walls in some rooms were covered in ash where vegetation once thrived but now, many centuries before her time, had submitted to the intense heat of the subterranean world. Samus entered rooms collecting a few extra missiles here and there. A few brave creatures had managed to make there dwellings deep within including the Gambits, Multiviolas and Holtz. She was very careful to make sure that her energy tanks were full and that her battery was maximized.  
  
In a small corridor Samus located another energy tank. She grabbed the tank and was about to enter the next door when she heard a voice on the other side. She quickly stepped back planning on surprising the speaker when they entered. She was backing up when her foot fell upon a crumbled block, which gave way under her weight, and she began to fall backwards through the hole. She yelped in surprise as she tried to right herself. She fell down the ash-covered duct and soon fell into a larger cavern. She feared the worse and braced herself for the impact. The suit became loose and a screen appeared with a question. "Initiate terminal velocity reverse booster?" Samus didn't have time to think about answering questions but bearing in mind the words reverse booster, she immediately answered yes. The suit began to move around and a thruster in the rear of the suit appeared and engaged. Samus' fall rate decreased dramatically and when she hit the floor the suit took the brunt of the fall and fell into a momentary state of paralysis. After a moment the suit regained the capability to function and a message appeared on the visor, "All systems are normal."  
  
Samus ran through the blue door on her left and entered a green room swarming with Multiviolas. Samus quickly dispatched the bouncy ball-like creatures and entered the next room. She found herself in a room much like the one before the green room except exceptionally larger. This room had ledges up top where she was but the bottom half of the room was void of any ledges.  
  
"Here goes nothing!" Samus said as she jumped past a crawling creature down into the void below her. The visor soon asked her to initiate the reverse boosters and she did. She landed in much the same manner as before and after regaining control continued through the door on her right. She entered a humongous purple corridor running a good two miles down from what she could see. The room was littered with columns and pipes, which Samus had no doubt lived numerous Gambits. There was barely enough room for Samus to jump or roll pass the columns and she fought her way through the aggravated Gambits and Novas. After a strenuous battle with the creatures and what ended up being a two and half mile stretch Samus was not only at the end of the tunnel but also five missiles more up. She entered the next door to find herself in another vertical shaft. This one was scattered with ledges and Samus spotted a door just above her. She quickly made her way up to the door and entered. She found herself in a green corridor this time only about half the length of the previous purple one. She made her way through taking damage from the many Multiviolas bouncing about the room. The next room contained another vertical shaft, this one null of any ledges with the exception of the open floor high above her. She continued to her left entering the next room where she was greeted by Novas and fiery crawling creatures. The room was nothing but a lake of boiling lava and columns floated mere inches above the surface of the lake. The fiery creatures made their sentries around the columns and Samus took them and the Novas out as she made her way across the lake.  
  
Once on the other side Samus entered the door.  
  
"Ridley", she growled as the red dragon came into site. Samus had entered into Ridley's lair. Much like the previous room but much smaller, the floor consisted of molten lava while nothing but a ledge floated in the middle of the room where Ridley made his perch.  
  
"Well the human pawn has shown her face again." Ridley said as he rose from his perched position. "What brings you down here?" He said forcing a grimacing smirk.  
  
Samus armed her cannon with the wave beam and raised her arm up to Ridley. "You are about to pay for all the trouble you have caused my friends and I." Samus jumped over to the ledge where Ridley was standing. "Before I destroy you though, what have you done with the Metroid?"  
  
"Well I did have it in the back room there awhile ago," Ridley said bringing a clawed finger up to his chin, "though it wanted the Metroid located elsewhere." Samus leapt over Ridley's tail as he shot it at her and missed. Samus retaliated with her wave beam. Ridley took a little damage and he staggered backwards upon impact. "OH, haven't we got a new assortment of weaponry. Try this on for size", he said spewing hot flames at Samus. She fell back into the molten lava.  
  
"WARNING: Immense heat diminishing suits energy supply", the suit warned. Samus could feel the heat around the joints of her suit and she tried climbing up and out of the lava. She climbed onto the ledge falling in a heap.  
  
"Am I too hot to handle?"  
  
"Not nearly", Samus said switching her beam to the ice beam. Samus rolled into her morph ball and rolled closer to a now shocked Ridley. Once she came out of it she fired the beam at the red dragon. The beam shot from the cannon freezing the hot particles surrounding its path as it made its way to Ridley. Ridley raised his hand up to block and found that his hand was now paralyzed from the tremendous cold. He quickly breathed hot flames on his hand thawing out the ice. The dragon swiped at Samus who again jumped over it.  
  
"It will be happy when I get rid of you."  
  
"Who is this it?" Samus asked Ridley through gasps of breath.  
  
"It is Mother Brain. It is the one who wants the Metroid. I didn't want anything to do with those nasty little buggers."  
  
Samus shot a missile at Ridley and caught him off guard. A small trickle of blood appeared on his chest where the impact occurred. "Then when I get through with you, I will have to meet this Mother Brain."  
  
"Good luck with that, you can't even beat me!"  
  
Samus was beginning to become aggravated by the dragon's jabbering. She switched back to her ice beam and shot Ridley in the face. The ice began covering his face stopping just below the neck. Ridley shook his iced over head trying to dislodge the frozen chunk of water but with no success. He blindly swiped at the bounty hunter who shot missiles at him while dodging his attacks. After a few hits the dragon staggered back and tripped over his tail falling head first into the boiling lava. The ice melted over his face and he began screaming in pain as the lava burned away at his wings. He then slowly disappeared beneath the red lake leaving Samus Aran to herself.  
  
"Start Log: I have managed to find and destroy the space pirate Ridley. He babbled something or another about another being called Mother Brain. I have yet to find the Metroid specimen and will continue searching for this Metroid creature and this Mother Brain. End Log:  
  
Samus closed the logbook and head to her left. This room was nothing but another lava lake. On the far side of the room sat another energy tank but there was no way to cross the lake seeing ledges did not exist in the room. A few Desgeegas made there homes on the ceiling of the cavern. As they swooped down to attack the bounty hunter she froze them in place and used them as temporary ledges. She jumped from one to another but still could not make her way across as soon as she ran out of the creatures to freeze. She turned around to find a Desgeega shaking off the ice and ram into her dropping her into the lake of lava. Samus hit the floor hard noticing first and foremost that the floor was not made of lava but was a hoax. She quickly ran across the rest of the room and jumped up to the ledge to grab the energy tank and refill her dwindling supply. She promptly turned and headed back out of Ridley's Hideout. Another backtrack brought Samus back to Brinstar. 


	6. Tourian, Metroids, and Mother Brain

Chapter 6 Tourian and Mother Brain  
  
Samus had been exploring tunnels for the past four hours trying to find the Metroid creature or the being Ridley had called Mother Brain. She had finally found a room near the top of the first vertical shaft she had encountered. She ran through the tunnel and entered the next room after destroying the red door. The room contained what looked like to pedestals. Samus walked over to them and after touching one of them a light began to flicker before a holographic image of Kraid appeared on top of it. Samus ran her hand through the image in amazement. She walked over to the other pedestal and placed her hand on it telling herself that an image of Ridley would soon pop up. Within a minute the flickering light stopped shimmering bringing into view the ominous figure of Ridley.  
  
"So what do these holograms do?"  
  
As if on queue a low rumble started on the far side of the room. A small space became visible under the statue and Samus quickly morphed into her ball and dropped into the passageway. At the end was a drop off into Brinstar's acidic sands. She stopped and wondered what would happen next. Again as if answering her questions a small bridge began to extend from the far side of the room. She quickly crossed and it soon disappeared again. She bomb jumped out of the other side and after returning to normal entered the next room. She found herself in an elevator shaft. She quickly jumped on and began her descend down into a new area.  
  
When the elevator stopped, Samus found herself surrounded by cement blocks, which had obviously been imported in seeing that they were not native to Zebes. Wires and tubes ran throughout the shaft from which she was about to descend. Ledges below her were made of some type of piping. As she went down Samus began noticing a slight chirping sound. Near the bottom of the shaft, a creature emerged from behind one of the pipes and began floating toward Samus. The green exterior skin of the creature dripped of slime and was transparent. The creature's innards were visible through its transparent skin and Samus could make out three distinct nerve bundles within it. Fangs jutted from the bottom side of the creature giving it a slight resemblance to an earth being called a jellyfish. As the creature came closer Samus could see how big the creature actually was; almost half the size of Samus herself. Samus scanned the creature as it came into range but couldn't find a match for the creature in the Zebesian creature index. She switched to a galaxy size search and still found nothing. It wasn't until she searched within two light-years from the planet did she come across the creatures origins.  
  
"Metroid (Alpha): A native creature of planet SR-388, the Metroid is an energy sucking creature. When exposed to beta-gamma rays, this being has the ability to grow into an advanced form of a Metroid of the beta type. Metroids are particularly vulnerable to weapons of the frozen type and ice elements. Metroids do not have eyes in their alpha stage but sense surrounding through unknown means; many scientists assume it to be through radar like functions."  
  
"I finally found you, you little sucker", she said thinking how literal that statement actually was. She armed her ice beam ready to take on the floating creature. She took aim and fired as the Metroid charged her. The Metroid seemed to sense the oncoming beam and quickly rose over the attack, which barely missed the creature. It quickly swooped down and latched onto Samus' helmet. Samus could feel the fangs trying to break through the armor, but stopped when the satisfying thirst for energy was quenched by the suit. A message appeared on Samus' visor.  
  
"WARNING! Energy level drastically decreasing. Unknown cause of drainage."  
  
Samus tried dislodging herself from the being but couldn't do so and she began panicking. She tried firing at the creature but couldn't bring her arm up high enough to fire at it. She rolled into the morph ball but with no help. She laid a few bombs and upon explosion the creature was thrown from Samus' suit. She unrolled and quickly aimed at the Metroid as it began to charge her again. She waited until it was nearly on top of her and then she fired. The creature shrieked and froze in place. Samus fired missiles at the creature destroying it after five hits. Samus collected the energy left behind and continued down the shaft.  
  
"Start Log: I have come across the Metroid threat and destroyed it. End Log."  
  
Samus continued through the next door and found more Metroids awaiting her. Once she was sensed, the creatures chirped excitedly at there newfound dinner. They quickly charged her and Samus destroyed them as they attacked.  
  
"Start Log: I am too late. The Space Pirates have successfully cloned the Metroid and now they inhabit the interior of Zebes. There are still no sign of Mother Brain. End Log."  
  
Samus continued through Tourian destroying the persistent Metroids that seemed to lurk within every room. Samus found herself constantly plagued by Rinkos, a small fire ring creature that appears out of nowhere to attack its prey. If Samus destroyed one Rinko then another two would replace it. In order to keep her enemy numbers down she left the Rinkos frozen as long as possible, exiting the room before they could thaw themselves out.  
  
Samus entered into a small room where Metroids were yet to be found but Rinkos still loomed. A cannon on the roof of the small room began firing at Samus who tried to blow it up with a missile but to know avail. She tried her wave beam on the cannon but the cannon only continued; however, the energy from the wave beam caused the turret to malfunction whereas it shot around the room mindless and erratically. The only way Samus could see to continue through the room was by breaking a glass tube like structure against the wall. Upon further investigation, Samus found something was in the tube. It was a reddish flesh like material pulsating with life. Samus shot at it with a missile and the glass broke, but before she could destroy the living tissue behind it, the glass was reformed. Samus scanned the substance behind the glass.  
  
"Unknown", was all that the scan brought back. Samus fired another missile only to watch it regenerate its shield. She tried again, this time firing multiple missiles as quickly as possible not allowing the pulsating mass time to regenerate itself. Samus entered the next room, which was very much like the one before. She continued through three rooms in the same manner. The last room Samus entered contained an island surrounded by an acidic substance. She blasted the Rinkos and dodged the cannon as she fired at another pulsating regenerating wall. Once broken Samus found herself looking upon a huge glass case.  
  
Numerous cannons and Rinkos protected the glass container. The jar held a brown and red mass of pulsating flesh. Two tusks jutted out from the brainy looking being with massive veins throbbing on its side.  
  
"Mother Brain", Samus said as she looked upon what had to be the most grotesque image she had yet to come across. Two eyes on the front lobes of the creature rolled from the backside and gazed at the astonished bounty hunter.  
  
"You must be the one who defeated Kraid and my general Ridley", it thought, talking to Samus through some type of physic ability.  
  
"Yeah and you must be the brains behind this wacky operation", Samus retorted. Samus didn't give the brain any time to answer as she began firing missiles at the glass surrounding the brain. After a few blasts the glass began to weaken and eventually broke into pieces leaving the throbbing brain vulnerable. Samus again released a slew of missiles, each one hitting the brain, which shook with each explosion. The nerves that ran along the inside of the container began breaking apart and some were even burning from the explosions. One of the defense turrets hit Samus dropping her back into the room with the acidic solution. She fell into the acid and was immediately warned of the impending danger of energy loss. She quickly climbed out and braced herself between the frame where the glass tube had once been. She continued to fire at the hideous brain until finally with a sonic like explosion, the brain laid disintegrated on the base of the container. Samus sat on the edge of the wall frame dangling her feet down as the Rinkos subsided along with the defense turrets, apparently disengaged without the commands from the brain.  
  
"Start Log: The being known as Mother Brain has been destroyed. She was the apparent leader of the Metroid mission and leader of the Space Pirates. The Metroids have been destroyed here on Planet Zebes. End Log." Samus closed the logbook screen and looked around at the destruction. "Boy am I glad this is over", she said rising to her feet. Before she could rise completely a blast rocked the room throwing her into the shattered glass.  
  
"Self-destruct Sequence has been initiated. Evacuate immediately", a computer-generated voice announced over a hidden speaker somewhere. A countdown began at 999 making its way down. Another explosion rocked the room and a hole fell open in the wall. Samus ran through dodging the falling pieces of the cavern. She entered into a long vertical shaft she could only assume was an escape route. She quickly began jumping from ledge to ledge making her way up toward the top. She only hoped that this would lead straight out, otherwise she might not make it out alive. Once at the top she found an elevator in working order and climbed aboard. 


	7. Pooling Memories

Chapter 7  
  
Pooling Memories  
  
".I then escaped from the exploding tunnels of Zebes, barely making it to my ship. I found no native inhabitant survivors such as the Chozo and if I didn't completely eradicate the Space Pirate legion then I surely must have severely lowered their population."  
  
"Very well Samus Aran", Chief Hardy said to the armored figure standing before him while filling out a check for a mission well done. The chair groaned under Samus' weight as she sat down to sign for the payment. She removed her arm cannon in order to sign her name before she slowly removed her helmet. With a high-pitched hiss and a small puff of hazy oxygen, Samus removed her helmet allowing her green hair to fall along her shoulder. Chief Hardy's mouth dropped in surprise as he saw that a woman hid behind the green visor of the armored bounty hunter.  
  
"Yo.you.you're a.woman!?"  
  
"Last time I checked I was", Samus said grinning at the bewildered chief. She took the check and stored it in one of the suits many compartments.  
  
The chief gathered himself together before smiling back, "Well, I hope to do business with you again Miss Aran."  
  
"In that case, see you next mission", she said shutting the door behind her. She began her trek down the hallway thinking how good it would be to get a shower and some real food. She turned the corner of the hall and rammed into a man.  
  
"So the bounty huntress is making a name for herself", Houston Armstrong commented, catching Samus before she could fall.  
  
"Yes, I would like to think so." she began before realizing who she was talking to, "oh, its you."  
  
"Is that the way to treat an old friend", he said pulling off his most attractive smile.  
  
Samus ignored him and continued down to the elevator and got in, "Houston, just let me be."  
  
"Come on Samus, first you lose you memory, then you run off leaving the people who care for you worried sick, and now you won't even talk to me! At least come and have dinner with me and lets just talk."  
  
The elevator began descending. Samus did miss the companionship of other humans and she thought it probably wouldn't hurt to try and be nice. "I tell you what. Let me go shower and I will meet you in the café at six."  
  
"It's a date!"  
  
"NO, that's not what I said", she said disgusted with the man's train of thought. The doors opened and Samus walked out, "forget about it Houston."  
  
"No no, I'm sorry! Six o'clock? I'll be there." Houston stood still momentarily waiting for Samus to give him a reply as she walked away.  
  
She replied, "Alright then", looking over her shoulder to throw a smile at her fellow bounty hunter.  
  
.|.  
  
Houston and Samus sat in the small café at the Galactic Federation Headquarters waiting for their orders while sipping away at coffee. Samus was actually feeling nicer to Houston even though she still did not trust his intentions. Houston sat back feeling relax glancing occasionally around the café.  
  
"Why do you keep doing that", Samus asked noting the bounty hunters eyes bouncing around the room.  
  
"Doing what?"  
  
"Your eyes."  
  
"Old habit I guess. I really wanted to ask you earlier but you seemed a bit tired after talking with Hardy. Have you had any more memories come back to you?"  
  
"I've had bits and pieces but none of them make any sense", she started noticing Houston lean forward on the table as if interested.  
  
"You know, Old Bird has been traveling around to different tribes and nations to see if there is any way to bring back those memories. I believe he said something about a machine that the Camazotians created that helps to unlock such things."  
  
"Really", Samus replied leaning closer to Houston with her utmost attention. Houston sat back smiling and put his hands behind his head. She could tell he wouldn't say anything else about such a machine until she tried it. Old Bird had been running errands all day and was nowhere to be found.  
  
"I can take you there. If you wish of course."  
  
"What do you mean, "If I wish"", she said beginning to get excited. She had had so many restless nights living memories that had no correlation with what she knew about herself. Houston rose out of his seat extending his hand toward Samus, offering her a helping hand up. She refused and stood up herself following the rejected Houston out of the door.  
  
.|.  
  
In an abandon warehouse outside of the GFP, a machine was setup for Samus' experiment. The machine had a chair with wires running around and through it and small screens on the nearby control panel showed static. Houston gestured Samus toward the chair; she slowly made her way to it realizing just how nervous she was. A door opened on the far side of the warehouse and Old Bird waltz in.  
  
"Samus my dear child, it is so good to see you again", the old Chozo said. Samus ran to the fragile creature embracing him with tears in her eyes.  
  
"I missed you Old Bird."  
  
"As well as I. You being here, I assume Houston here has already told you about this machine. I've been told that it has a ninety percent chance of working. Side effects only deal with minor headaches that subside after a few days."  
  
"I'm not worried about minor side effects, I only want my memory back."  
  
"Very well then Samus, have a seat in the chair."  
  
Samus strolled over to the chair and had a seat. She felt more confident now that she knew Old Bird was there. Houston strapped her arms down and brought a metallic helmet over her head. A pair of shaded glasses covered her eyes and a 3D display appeared.  
  
"Now Samus, this machine is going to probe your mind. What you are about to see is your entire life fold out before you. This could take a good three hours so just sit back and relax." Old Bird typed some commands into the computer and Samus' eyewear came to life. She found herself viewing her childhood just after the attack of her home world.  
  
"We will let her be to herself for now. I continue to check up on her but I do not want to invade her personal memories here. You go and occupy yourself elsewhere and I will call you before I turn the machine off."  
  
"Just give me a call when you're done." Houston walked out of the room nodding to Old Bird on his way out. Old Bird glanced at the screen showing Samus' current memory. It was a tearjerker for him; one with himself teaching a very young Samus how to fend for herself. He turned and walked out of the room dimming the lights as he left. 


	8. Truths

Chapter 8 Truths  
  
Houston removed the eyewear from over Samus' head and lifted the headgear up. He looked at Samus for some sign of remembrance and saw tears streaming down her face. With her arms removed from the straps she embraced Houston who was smiling from ear to ear.  
  
"I'm so sorry Houston. I remember now, I remember everything. I guess you were right all along. Can you ever forgive me?"  
  
"Forgive you for what? It wasn't your fault. You didn't ask to have your memories taken from you", Houston replied holding the sobbing Samus tight against him. Old Bird sat at the control panel, he too was crying in joy that his child had recovered her memories.  
  
"Everything will be alright now," Old Bird said rising from his seat, "Ridley has paid for putting you through such pain."  
  
Samus wiped her eyes, "Indeed he has paid the ultimate price." She turned to Old Bird to embrace him; "I couldn't have done it without the power suit though." Samus grabbed Houston by the hand and did the same with Old Bird's hand. "Let's go and eat now. I am starving!" Old Bird and Houston laughed at the comment. "Old Bird can you meet us in the café? I need to talk to Houston."  
  
"Of course my dear Samus." Old Bird exited the room leaving Samus and Houston together.  
  
"I remember that day I showed you my secret spot in Zebes and what we talked about. Then I look back and think about how persistent you were during my hospital stay. I want to thank you Houston for helping me. I knew you had the best intentions for me but I didn't know whom to trust besides Old Bird." Samus broke from Houston's grip and walked toward the control console where the images of Samus' past were playing out. She began deleting the memories as she thoughtfully looked at a few of them. Houston stood beside her.  
  
"You know Samus, I had faith that your memory would return and I hoped more then anything that you would remember us." Houston began running his hands through Samus' green hair before bringing it across her cheek then to her chin. "I really do love you Samus Aran", he said before bringing his face to hers and slowly and passionately kissing her long and soft. Samus returned the gesture pulling the back of his head closer to hers and then broke the kiss and leaned her head on his shoulder.  
  
"I love you to Houston", she said burying her face into his shoulder before giving a weak laugh. "We better go and join Old Bird. We've got a lot of reminiscing to do." 


End file.
